The present invention relates to a steel laminate gasket with a fluid hole closing device for closing fluid hole of an engine.
In an internal combustion engine, there are provided with fluid passages for water and oil. In particular, the water and oil passages are formed inside a cylinder block and cylinder head, and when the engine is assembled together, water and oil are designed to circulate through the respective passages. When the cylinder block and cylinder head are assembled, a gasket is installed therebetween to prevent fluid from leaking at a connecting portion.
In an automobile industry, one engine is installed in different models of cars to reduce manufacturing cost of an engine. Even if the same engine is installed, installation condition is different in the respective models. Therefore, small design changes of an engine are required in the respective models. For example, amount of cooling water and oil circulating through the engine is changed.
In some cases, it is required that some of the water and oil passages be closed completely. In this case, it is possible to fill some materials in the hole or apply closing device, such as a cap, in the hole. However, filing some materials or applying a closing device requires additional materials and labor. Therefore, it has been proposed that the fluid passages be closed by means of a gasket. Namely, a gasket does not have a hole at a portion where the fluid passage is closed.
When a fluid passage is closed by a gasket, it is required to securely seal around the fluid passage. In a steel laminate gasket, sealing around the fluid passage may be made by a bead formed on a steel plate. In this case, the steel plate should have a thickness between 0.2-0.3 mm. Otherwise, the bead can not sufficiently seal around the fluid hole.
In case a steel plate having a thickness between 0.2-0.3 mm is used to block or close a fluid passage of an engine, if a pressurized fluid is applied to the steel plate, the steel plate may deform or project rearwardly, which affects the sealing ability around the fluid hole. Namely, in case a plate is deformed, fluid may leak from the fluid hole.
Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a steel laminate gasket with a fluid hole closing device, which can securely close a fluid hole for a pressurized fluid.
Another object of the invention is to provide a steel laminate gasket as stated above, wherein even if high fluid pressure is applied to the steel plate, the steel plate does not substantially deform to thereby seal around the fluid hole.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.